When I visit amusement parks, ballgames, concerts, community festivals, basically any public event, I’m always reminded of one simple truth.

The world is filled with ugly people.

That may not be politically correct to say out loud, but it’s easy to prove both statistically and scientifically. There are entire websites devoted to weird looking people at WalMart! Face it, ugly people far outnumber pretty ones. I think that may be why Hollywood is so popular. It’s a place for pretty people to gather and flaunt their pretty-ness.

Like slaves in the Roman Empire I think it’s time for ugly people to rise up and demand their place in the spotlight!

But that’s really the problem, isn’t it? Ugly is already in the spotlight. It’s not the ugly defined by physical comeliness or attractive beauty. It’s the ugly that comes from inside, the ugly that stains the soul. No matter how much make up, exercise, or Photoshop editing, regardless of the sparkle or shine on the outside the ugly inside has a way of making it’s way out. It’s why pretty people get divorced. It’s what tarnishes the beauty of success and strangles satisfaction.

The ugly inside, regardless of our external circumstance, finds a way to make its way out and corrodes even the most pristine of appearances. So how do we fight the ugly?

Powerless

It’s a principle from Celebrate Recovery. We must recognize we are powerless, on our own, to overcome the ugly inside. The ugly has a source. It’s our own heart. We need a change of heart that will lead to a change of mind, attitude and action. We can slap on some new paint. We can turn over a new leaf. But until we have a change of heart we’ll only find old dirt.

Heart change is Jesus’ specialty. You can trust Him to lovingly work in you and through you to remake you into someone beautiful from the inside out.

Patience

Real change takes time. Whatever ugly is in you has been there from birth and has been reinforced through your life experiences. Patience with yourself and with others gives you the space – think bandwidth – you need for genuine transformation to take place.

Practice

Repetition is a powerful tool. Repetition is a powerful tool. Repetition is a powerful tool. Getting it right once isn’t enough. Get it right again. Then again. Then do it again. Take one step at a time and when you experience a setback get up and get on with it. The team that wins the Super Bowl, the artist giving the concert – they made it that far through hours and hours of practice.

I could give you more bullet points, but none of that matters without a change of heart. That’s not a change you can make on your own. Trust Jesus with your ugly today.